


You Can Lead A Horse To Water

by aseies



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Gen, Inception AU, M/M, One-Sided Nico di Angelo/Jason Grace, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Past Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Sorry guys Piper is already dead in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24317560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aseies/pseuds/aseies
Summary: "Hazel put her hands on both sides of Nico’s face. “Please, Nico, I don’t want you to get hurt.”Nico looked her straight in the eye, and put a hand over hers. “I trust Jason with my life.”“But do you trustPiperwith it?”"-An Hazel-focusedInception AUbased on a long-lost Tumblr post. It jumps around different points of the movie assuming you've seen it and know the basic flow of the plot. Minor spoilers for the movie.
Relationships: Jason Grace & Hazel Levesque, Nico di Angelo & Hazel Levesque
Kudos: 5





	You Can Lead A Horse To Water

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr in 2014.

Hazel gasped, clutching her rib cage where the woman had stabbed her.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Nico cooed, hurrying over to her side and removing the needle in her arm.

“W-Why wouldn’t I wake up?” Hazel’s whole body shook, blinking away tears.

“Because the five minutes weren’t up,” he said, rubbing the sore spot on her arm.

A few feet away, Jason Grace stirred from his dream. He rubbed his forehead, and looked at the ground with a crazed look in his eyes. Jumping to his feet, he hurried out of the room. “Tell her about totems!” he called over his shoulder as he left – an afterthought.

“What?” Hazel looked to her brother. “What are totems? What’s he talking about?”

“It’s a small object–”

“No, _Nico_.” Hazel grabbed his arm, pulled him close, and said in an urgent whisper, “I know you like Jason, and I _know_ you’ve been friends for a long time, but are you sure it’s safe to be working with him?”

Nico sighed. “Hazel–”

“Don’t ’ _Hazel’_ me! That woman that killed me – that was Piper, wasn’t it?”

Nico looked at the floor. “…Probably.”

“It’s dangerous working with him, right?” Hazel put her hands on both sides of Nico’s face. “Please, Nico, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Nico looked her straight in the eye, and put a hand over hers. “I trust Jason with my life.”

“But do you trust _Piper_ with it?” Hazel asked. “It seems like they’re a package deal in there.”

Before Nico could answer, Jason’s footsteps signaled his return.

Hazel frowned, giving Jason a hard glare as she threw her bag over her shoulder. “That’s some subconscious you’ve got there!”

Jason didn’t respond, and Hazel pointedly bumped into him on her way out. He watched her leave in silence and didn’t speak until they heard the slam of the office door.

“She’ll be back.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “She doesn’t like you very much.”

“I know.” Jason admitted, sitting down and messing with a fold in his sleeve. “But you didn’t see her in there. She’s a natural. The real world won’t be enough for her.”

Nico grunted noncommittally and finished packing away their supplies.

* * *

Nico’s stomach dropped to the floor when Hazel walked through the office doors again.

“Jason said you’d be back,” Nico said bitterly.

Hazel grunted, clutching at her arm. “It was just… so amazing in there. Pure creation.”

“I know,” Nico said, his eyes dropping to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

Hazel blinked. “For what?”

“I knew…" Nico grimaced. "I knew that once you tried it, you would…” He bit his knuckle. “And I knew you’d be good. I mean, you were an amazing architect _before_ , so I couldn’t even imagine…” He chuckled, and shook his head, looking at the ground. “But then Jason asked and I… your name just came out and…”

Hazel stood on her toes and pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him down to her. He returned the gesture gratefully, and buried his face in her shoulder.

“I can take care of myself, Nico,” she said calmly. “I can do this. I’m still not going to trust Jason Grace, but I know I can do this. Just trust me, and tell me what to do.”

When Nico pulled away, he had a steeled expression. “Alright. Let’s turn you into the best architect the world has ever seen.”

* * *

After several hours of designing the different layers of the dreams and choosing her totem, Hazel was exhausted. She stretched her hands over her head and started toward the door. She was looking forward to having _normal_ dreams back at her apartment, and maybe getting something to-go on the way. Her hand closed around the doorknob that led to her freedom, but a light glinted in the corner of her eye.

But she was the last one here, wasn’t she?

Hazel followed the light to Jason Grace’s office, where his door was cracked open. Inside, he was opening a timer case. She frowned and pushed her way inside saying, “Putting yourself under?”

Jason jumped and grimaced at her. “Just trying some experiments,” he said, closing the lid again. “I thought I was the only one here.”

“Join the club.”

Jason rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “How are the mazes coming along?”

Hazel shrugged. “Good. Do you want to see?”

“No!” He said quickly, his hand flying up between them. “Uh, I mean… No. It’s not a good idea to show other participants the layout of the maze.”

Hazel crossed her arms and leaned on the door frame. “Or else _Piper_ will know it too?”

Jason licked his lips uncomfortably and shifted his weight. “How much did Nico tell you?”

“That he’s worried about you,” Hazel said, striding toward him. “That a phantom of your deceased wife appears when you go under who tries to sabotage your plans, and that he thinks it’s getting worse.” Hazel stood a foot away, staring up into Jason’s eyes. “Is it?”

Jason’s eyes darted anywhere but Hazel and he licked his lips nervously. He took a step away and turned his back on her.

“Does everyone else know?”

“No.”

Hazel squared her shoulders and tried not to snarl, “You’re risking the entire operation.”

“I _know_ ,” Jason said through grit teeth, glaring at her over his shoulder. “But I’m the _only_ one who has any idea how to pull this off. I _have_ to go.”

Hazel shook her head. “What’s your endgame, Grace?”

Jason’s face fell, his shoulders slumping, and leaned heavily on his desk. “I just want to see my kids again.”

Hazel’s eyes widened, and her fists unclenched. “Why can’t you see them?”

Jason looked to the ground as he walked past Hazel to the coat rack. He put on his blazer and hat in silence.

“Well?” Hazel prompted.

Jason sighed. “Because… the authorities think that I killed Piper." 

Hazel’s jaw dropped, and she couldn’t think of anything else to say. Jason put his hand on the door knob and, after a moment, said, "Thank you.”

“For what?” Hazel asked.

“For not asking if I did." 

Jason turned off the light and walked out of the room. Sweat coated Hazel’s palms and her knees were shaking so badly she was surprised she was still upright.

_What had she and her brother gotten into?_

* * *

Weeks passed.

Hazel was kept busy. She practiced going under with her teammates, and built more and more complex mazes. She kept so busy, sometimes she forgot she was working with a bunch of crooks. Leo made her laugh, and it seemed like Nico was having fun with their constant banter. Annabeth had a lot of constructive criticism about the level designs, and together they were able to build something that they were both vaguely happy with for the operation. Even Mr. Zhang, who only spoke when he had something to contribute, seemed pleasant enough. He would nod to Hazel when she arrived, and listened attentively when she spoke or asked a beginner’s question.

And then there was Jason Grace.

Hazel still wasn’t sure what to think about him. He seemed like he had an addiction that everyone was happy to enable. In the dream state, he was a danger to himself and everyone around him, but he refused to admit it. He was wallowing in the past, and unknowingly dragging Nico down with him. It wasn’t healthy, and Hazel hated seeing her brother’s longing looks when Jason wasn’t looking. She wanted to throw a chair at his head and force him to reevaluate his life.

But… Hazel could understand him wanting to visit his kids again. If this really _was_ his only chance to get back to them, of course he was going to take it. If he could focus on the present, with his kids, maybe he could turn his life around.

But would he be able to? Was this really his last gig? Sometimes, Hazel would catch him tucked away in his office, fast asleep under the timer.

Like today.

Hazel glanced around the offices, and saw that nobody was around. Quietly, she pulled a second chair over to the machine, and hooked herself up. She’d see for herself what "experiments” Grace was running in his spare time.

* * *

As she awoke, Piper’s crazed eyes were still burned into the back of Hazel’s eyelids. She pushed herself upright, and stared in disbelief at Jason. He wouldn’t look at her, and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

“Do you really think,” Hazel said, her voice quivering with anger. “That you can just build a prison of memories to lock her in? You think that’s going to hold her?”

Jason didn’t answer.

“Because it isn’t. And you know it. Piper has–”

“It’s time,” Frank said, entering the building with Leo. They explained how the group had to get into place, and Jason started to pack away the timer.

Hazel grabbed his arm and whispered, “I’m coming with you.”

“No you’re not,” he hissed back. “I promised Nico you’d be safe.”

Hazel dug her nails into his arm. “You need someone on the team that knows what you’re struggling with. It doesn’t have to be me – but if it’s not, you _have_ to show Nico what I just saw.”

Jason licked his lips and closed his eyes, probably cursing internally. He turned to Frank and said, “Get us another seat on the plane.”

* * *

Nico dragged Jason aside before they boarded the plane. “What is _she_ doing here?”

“She’s coming with us.”

Nico glared at him murderously. “We had a _deal_.”

“Well _she_ changed the terms,” Jason growled, pointing at Hazel. “Go talk to _her_ about it.”

Nico clenched his jaw, but didn’t say anything back to him. He squared his shoulders and marched over to Hazel, anger radiating off of him. “What’s going on?”

“You guys _need_ me there.” Hazel said, straightening her back.

“No, we don’t.” Nico grit his teeth. “It’s not safe.”

“Well neither is going under with your crush!” she hissed. “I’ll take care of myself and keep an eye out for Piper, you just focus on what you need to do.”

Nico grimaced and closed his eyes, trying to calm down and get a clear head before they started the operation. “Alright. Fine. Just… _be careful_.”

“I will,” Hazel said, standing on her tiptoes and kissing her brother on the cheek. “Though, you really _could_ do better.”


End file.
